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How to End the Mentoring Journey with Your Mentor

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You and your mentor will have acknowledged that your next meeting will be your last. Here’s how to prepare for your last meeting. 

1. Prepare for your final meeting

  • Set aside some time to reflect on what you have achieved so far. What have you learned? Did the journey meet your expectations? What would you do differently? 
  • Go through the goals you set. Were they achieved? 
  • Make notes on what you would like to discuss during your final meeting. Is there advice you would like?
  • What would you like to thank your mentor for? 
  • Would you like to be a mentor in the future?

2. Your final meeting

  • Now is the time to celebrate your journey together. If possible, make it special by choosing a different place to meet, such as for lunch in a nice restaurant. You can choose a location to meet and enter it under Sessions. Simply select Schedule and go to Session Location and select Physical Location. You can type in the address within the Location details text box. 
  • Reflect on what you have achieved so far and celebrate your successes. Share what you learned and how you have grown.
  • If you did not achieve all your goals, discuss your plans going forward. 
  • Share with your mentor what you felt was effective and where their mentoring could be improved.

3. What’s next?

  • Your formal mentoring journey is over, but you both may decide to remain in contact. If so, how will you stay in touch? 
  • Appreciate your mentor. Thank them for what they have done for you.

Don’t let your mentoring journey fizzle out without formally concluding it. When a mentoring journey ends well it adds to the overall positive experience. 

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What to Do in a Mentoring Meeting as a Mentor

Having a structure can help you and your mentee make your time more productive.
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Having a structure can help you and your mentee make your time more productive. The format can be adapted to suit your requirements so there’s a natural flow. 

1. Feedback And Update 

Remind your mentee about confidentiality as well as any ground rules. 

Talk to your mentee about:

  • Feedback on their progress on the action plan. 
  • An update on what has happened in their work or personal life since you last met. 
  • Progress on what you committed to do since the last meeting.

2. Discussion

This is where you will spend the bulk of your time. Ask your mentee to go through the discussion points on their agenda, and identify the issues they want to discuss.

Example of prompting questions:

“What would be most useful for you to discuss today?”

“What would you like this session to focus on?” 

Ask questions to clarify the issues your mentee has presented; be sure you fully understand before moving on.

Guide your mentee to think about their issue more thoroughly. Ask open-ended questions to encourage them to think more deeply.

Example of prompting questions:

“What options have you considered?”

“What do you see as the pros and cons of each?”

You can then share some of your experiences and advice, if it's requested.

3. Close

Action Plan - Ask your mentee to put together an action plan of what they would like to work on before the next meeting. If needed, help them to think through options. Make a note of anything you could provide, such as an article or video, to help them.  Make sure you send them to your mentee.

Discuss and schedule your next meeting. Set up a recurring meeting if you mutually agree on a time that works for both of you. Finally, sincerely thank your mentee for their hard work.